Setara Biosciences has formed around a handful of assets from Actio Biosciences, which was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals earlier this year.
After buying Actio Biosciences earlier this year, Jazz Pharmaceuticals had some rare disease assets to spare. And so, Setara Biosciences has been formed with $90 million in series A funds to work on the remaining small molecule precision medicine programs.
Setara broke cover Friday with the fundraising announcement, led by the founder of Actio, human genetics expert David Goldstein. He will serve as president and executive officer of the new biotech.
“We are incredibly proud of what we built at Actio and that ABS-1230 for KCNT1-related epilepsy now has the opportunity to advance as part of Jazz,” Goldstein said in a statement. “Setara allows us to take the next step in our journey, to carry forward a pipeline of promising programs for rare diseases, with the potential to ultimately reach much broader patient populations.”
Jazz bought Actio for its lead program ABS-1230, which is being developed for KCNT1-related epilepsy. The deal offered up to $1.3 billion, including $820 million in upfront cash. At the time, Jazz promised to spin out the remaining assets and retain a stake in the resulting venture.
The lead asset for Setara will be the TRPV4 inhibitor STAR-0871, previously known as ABS-0871, which is under development for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C (CMT2C) and overactive bladder. CMT2C is a rare genetic neuropathy that causes vocal cord anomalies, impairment of respiratory muscles, hearing loss and weakness in the hands and feet.
The therapy, which aims to address the underlying cause of the disease, has already gone through a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers. A Phase 1b study in patients with CMT2C will get underway in 2027. The therapy already has rare pediatric disease, orphan drug and fast track designations from the FDA.
But Setara hopes that STAR-0871 will have some application in more common conditions, including overactive bladder. The company will kick off a Phase 2a study in this indication at the same time.
Setara has also snagged some earlier-stage programs from Actio focused on genetic epilepsies and expansion indications, including migraine. Participating in the series A were Deerfield Management, Canaan, Droia Ventures, EcoR1, Euclidean Capital, Regeneron Ventures and Jazz.
